Experimental docu-fiction, 48 min — Egypt / Denmark, 2018
Script co-writer & performer: Shadi el Hosseiny · Sound design & mixage: Adham Zidan
The Wardrobe Man follows my research into the life of Æ Skawmand — the Wardrobe-Man, Kristian Vandet Jørgensen — a hermit who lived in a wooden wardrobe on the shore of Oddesund in West Jutland, Denmark, from 1917 until his death in 1956. I tell the story from inside my own wardrobe in Cairo, recounting the research to my friend Shadi. Combining documentary footage and archival material with fictional scenes, the film deliberately unsettles the boundary between fact and fiction, using the coincidence of two wardrobes — one in Denmark, one in Egypt — as a starting point for an inquiry into the relationship between geography, memory, history, and imagination.
The Wardrobe Man (film stills) — Fiction: Shadi (left) and Bassem (right) in the Cairo wardrobe.
The Wardrobe Man (film still) — Documentary: the shore at Oddesund, West Jutland, Denmark.
The Wardrobe Man (film stills) — Documentary: research encounters and conversations, Oddesund, West Jutland, Denmark.
Æ Skawmand — the Wardrobe-Man, Kristian Vandet Jørgensen (1917–1956). Archival photographs, courtesy of the Struer Museum.
The Wardrobe Man (film stills) — Fiction: inside the Cairo wardrobe.
The Wardrobe Man (film still) — Fiction: the research wall, Cairo wardrobe.
The complete film (48 min) is available upon request — please get in touch via the Contact page.
